


~I Wanna be Yours~

by 1InSaNeAnGeL



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Non-Despair (Dangan Ronpa), Angst with a Happy Ending, Awkward Saihara Shuichi, Bisexual Disaster Saihara Shuichi, Bisexual Saihara Shuichi, Boys In Love, Boys Kissing, Crossover Pairings, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Feelings Realization, Femboy Kurusu Akira, Gay Kurusu Akira, Inspired by Music, M/M, Post-Persona 5, Romantic Fluff, Sad and Sweet, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Sweet Kurusu Akira
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-14
Updated: 2021-03-14
Packaged: 2021-03-22 17:27:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,773
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30042189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/1InSaNeAnGeL/pseuds/1InSaNeAnGeL
Summary: ~Another AkiShu (Kurusu Akira/Saihara Shuichi) piece but more relationship-centric.~
Relationships: Amamiya Ren & Morgana (Persona Series), Amamiya Ren & Saihara Shuichi, Amamiya Ren/Saihara Shuichi, Kurusu Akira & Morgana, Kurusu Akira & Saihara Shuichi, Kurusu Akira/Saihara Shuichi, Morgana & Saihara Shuichi, Persona 5 Protagonist & Morgana, Persona 5 Protagonist & Saihara Shuichi, Persona 5 Protagonist/Saihara Shuichi
Kudos: 3





	~I Wanna be Yours~

**Author's Note:**

> ~Music can be a great source of inspiration. "I Wanna be Yours" by Arctic Monkeys, thank you so much for this.~

“You’re Saihara-san, right? You moved in with your parents…? Across the street.”

“H-huh?” A pair of gambogeish grey eyes looked up from the page in front of him to see a tall, tall, and slender raven-haired boy standing over him. He had his head tilted to the side as if inspecting Shuichi, his smile tiny but warm and eyes, big and wide and the color of gunmetal, threatening to pierce right through Shuichi. “...Huh?”

A giggle that resembled finely tuned violins followed, causing the cap-wearing boy to blush in embarrassment. ‘That was a solid response, Saihara,’ Shuichi ridiculed himself, closing his book and settling it in his lap.

“I knew I recognized you,” The boy with raven hair went on, folding his hands over his lap. “I wouldn’t forget my rescuer.”

“Rescuer?”

The raven nodded. “You...at the coffee shop around the corner, a few weeks ago? Someone was giving me a hard time, and well you spilled your tea all over their seat. They got really mad, haha, but they stopped paying attention to me to rant at the manager.” He explained with another adorable giggle, “I didn’t get to thank you for that, you really did save me. I’ve been getting a lot of hassle since coming back so it’s really nice to get a break from it every once and a while.”

“Oh! O-oh, yeah! I remember you now too! You were ordering coffee and you wanted a booth, and then suddenly this older lady was just yelling at you.” Shuichi’s blush was still present but he was a tad more confident, nodding his head. He frowned. “It was weird, and weirder that no one said anything! I had to do something...I-I knew I couldn’t say anything, but something I could do!” Shuichi then quickly corrected, “A-and I moved in with my aunt and uncle.”

“Gomen nasai, it was wrong of me to assume. They just seemed so dotting and sweet, sorry about that.” The raven apologized twice in one breath, rubbing the back of his neck. “Yeah, I got my coffee once I was freed from her, but I never got to get your name. I knew I saw you before around here though. You’re one of my neighbors, you live across the street!”

“Wait, so then you’re...Kurusu-san?”

“Akira, yeah that’s me! Heh, I’d say I’m surprised you remembered me but then I remember my reputation here is still the same as when I left it.” Akira soon sat down next to Shuichi and let out a heavy sigh, smiling in spite of the slight sadness in those wide eyes. “It sucks, but it’s home I guess.”

“Reputation...you were arrested almost two years ago for assault,” Shuichi recalled reading that in a newspaper somewhere, where he couldn’t recall off the top of his head but Akira’s face felt familiar since the first day he moved to Osaka with his aunt and uncle. Those eyes in particular…

But how could someone who looked like him be a criminal? It never made sense to Shuichi, so he looked deeper into it.

“It was all a ruse though, a lie,” Shuichi said, Akira raising a delicate brow. “You didn’t really do what they said you did, you only got arrested and charged for assault because a corrupted higher power decided that. You were just trying to help someone being harassed mercilessly; you didn’t do anything wrong.”

“...Huh, you’ve only been here for a few weeks now but you’re already on my side? That’s, haha that’s really nice.” Akira’s giggles exploded into full-blown laughter, crossing his arms over his chest.

‘He has a really pretty laugh…’ Shuichi thought, his heart picking up the pace just a little bit.

The raven resumed, looking up at the sky going from blue to a soft peaches-pink. “Everything got cleared up in the end, but I guess people just enjoy gossiping so much they won’t let some things die. My parents don’t talk to me, all my friends are in Tokyo, and...school sucks here.” A pause before Akira was eyeing Shuichi. “I thought it was going to be terrible all the time, but then you saved me. Sure I normally have respect for my elders, but I wasn’t feeling it that day. I just wanted some coffee and a quiet place to read; I almost didn’t get that, but thanks to you I did.”

“Wait, if you know I live across the street, why did you wait until now to talk to m-me?” Shuichi was a detective through and through, and this moment, no matter how flustered he was, was no exception.

Akira’s face went from soft vanilla cream to strawberry pink in ten seconds flat, his smile broadening, however. “Well, I...I needed an excuse to come and talk to you.” He admitted, giggling yet again. “You always look so busy, in your own little world I didn’t want to interrupt. You don’t go to my school, but you go to my second favorite coffee shop in the world. And you’re always alone which should give me the guts to speak up but I don’t know, I wasn’t sure if you’d take it well or not.”

“I-I’m always thinking, but I wouldn’t have minded. I’ve noticed you before.” Shuichi said, only to gasp and wave his hands in front of his face. “N-not like I was stalking or s-s-spying on you or anything! I’d just see you walk by to the park sometimes, or on your way to work. Or I assume work, the a-apron!”

“I do work, yeah. I work part-time at the flower shop in the strip mall.” Instead of flinching at Shuichi’s twitchy antics, Akira only nodded and offered some info in return. “Three days a week, sometimes on weekends. That’s why sometimes I have petals in my hair, hahaha. If I’m not working, I’m at school studying.”

“You’re a third-year now?”

“Hai. I’m trying to get as much college prep in as I can. I know I don’t want to go to University here, all the chatter behind my back will kill me eventually. I’m thinking about heading back to Tokyo, to see my friends and start over there. There’s nothing here for me and Mona. My cat,” Akira bit his lower lip. “I-I had to make that clear, sorry.”

“You have a cat named Mona?”

“Short for Morgana, and yes I know he’s a boy. It just...stuck,” Akira said, folding his arms on top of his knees. Shuichi couldn’t hold back a short chuckle.

“No, it’s cute. It’s a cute name for a cat, Kurusu-san.”

“I’m pretty sure I’m older than you, so shouldn’t it Akira-kun?”

“F-first names?”

“Well, you can call me by my first or surname, I don’t really care. I’ll call you Saihara-san for now, but hopefully later on I can call you my Shuichi-chan.” Akira admitted, saying this with a straight face. He reached out and gently, carefully fixed Shuichi’s cap for him, smiling sweetly afterward. “Sounds good?”

“-?!”

“I’ll take that as a yes.”

* * *

“You’re the Ultimate Detective? As in the best in all of Japan?” Akira’s eyes were wide behind his whole, black thick-rimmed fashion glasses. His gaze was on Shuichi as he served him a plate of curry, sitting down next to him once he finished washing and rinsing out the pot in the kitchen sink.

Morgana was fast asleep in Shuichi’s lap, having decided the twitchy boy with rather feminine lashes and very, very, very dark blue hair was now his new couch cushion. Shuichi didn’t seem bothered by this, though; it’s not the first night he’s come over for dinner at Akira’s, with his uncle’s permission obviously, so it’s not the first night he’s served this purpose for the sapphire-eyed feline.

Shuichi nodded, smiling shyly when Akira gently reminded him, “Careful, it’s a little hot still.”

“I am, it’s something I don’t really talk about since I don’t think it’s really true, but that’s the title I have as an Ultimate. Thank you for the curry, too.”

“How could it not be? You told me you’ve worked at your uncle’s detective agency for a few years now, Saihara-san. A credential like that can’t be faked!”

“You’re really n-nice, Kurusu-san.”

“I like to say what’s on my mind,” Akira rectified, smiling before going serious again. “And I think you’re just being modest...kind of like one of my friends back in Tokyo. Sakamoto Ryuji; can be a little loud, and sometimes says crap that gets him in trouble but he’s also very loyal and doesn’t see just how important he is to others. He’s harder on himself than I am, and I’m his best friend so that’s saying something. He was there for me, and gave me a chance when everyone else at Shujin thought I was this psycho that would stab anyone who looked at me funny.”

“I know you like knives, Kurusu-san, but not like that.” Shuichi blew lightly before working the spoonful of meat and vegetables and rice in a hearty sauce into his mouth. The moment it came into contact with his tongue, the blue-haired boy squeezed his eyes shut.

Hot, hot! It was really hot!!

“Saihara-san?! Here, drink some!” Shuichi’s gambogeish grey eyes were wet and glassy, beating his chest to help him swallow the spicy concoction before gulping down from the glass Akira held to his lips. Shuichi downed almost the entire glass before he pulled away, signaling to the raven next to him that he was good for now. “Gomen nasai, Saihara-san!”

“Meeeorw!” Morgana was hissing and shrieking, Shuichi’s sudden jerky moves cause him to hop out of his lap and sprint for the living room couch.

“G-gomen nasai, M-M-Mona!”

“Eh?! He’ll be fine, I’m worried I burned your stomach out!” Akira shook his head, rolling his eyes before he cupped Shuichi’s face between his hands. “You chugged it all…! Was it really that spicy? I did everything I did last time and it turned out mild. I don’t know what I did, but I’m so sorry, Saihara-san.”

Shuichi took deep, quick breaths through his nose, letting himself lean against Akira. His mouth didn’t feel like part of Hell anymore, no despair on his taste buds thankfully and the milk was cooling the sweat building along his temple. “I-I’m okay, I’m okay,” the Ultimate Detective assured his raven-haired friend, smiling a bit dizzily. “It’s still delicious!”

“You’re high on the curry fumes, oh no! I got my Shuichi-chan high!!” Akira bemoaned, wiping at Shuichi’s forehead with a napkin. “Isn’t that a crime? You don’t have to ask me to testify or anything, I’ll come clean I promise.”

“Now you’re just being dramatic, you didn’t mean to.” Shuichi argued, “And this isn’t really a criminal case so what’s the point? The investigation is pretty open and shut.”

“Is it?”

“Hai, I was just eating some really good curry. It was a little too spicy, spicier than I anticipated but I still enjoyed it. You surprised me, not planned a trap to foil me…” Shuichi’s cheeks were still on fire, but he could easily pretend it was because of the meal over how close he and Akira were. “I’m not about to let your second run-in with the law be just as empty and corrupt as the first one, Kurusu-san.”

“...Heh, if you were the arresting officer, Shuichi-chan, I’d let you take me in,” Akira said, glad that the other boy wasn’t shaking anymore. He closed his eyes and hugged Shuichi loosely around the waist, careful of his ahoge. “Again, I’m so sorry.”

“I’m fine. I’ll just need more milk to get through this dinner, haha.”

“A done deal. And you know, this kind of worked out.”

“How?” Shuichi asked, his eyes half-lidded. Akira giggled.

“Because I get to hug you, Saihara-chan. I don’t have to wait until we fall asleep watching movies, I can just hug you right now…”

“K-Kursusu-san…”

“I’ll be right back, I’ll get us the whole carton. I’m hungry too; be my savior again if I kill over?”

* * *

“Do you always wear black?” Akira asked Shuichi one early Sunday morning, looking down at the still sleepy boy with a fond smile.

“It’s comfortable,” Shuichi mumbled softly, rubbing his eyes. Once his brain started really waking up he felt his heart skip a beat at seeing the raven hovering over him like this. How the sun pouring in from the window turned Akira’s skin from vanilla cream to honey, how his eyes, without the fashion glasses, looked bigger and more intense, and even with his hair already messy, he looked ready to start the day. “Black is a pretty neutral color.”

“Red’s more my speed,” Akira confessed, laying back down and resting his head on Shuichi’s chest. He internally beamed at feeling the Ultimate Detective hug him lightly, and how his heart skipped yet another beat. “I make red gloves look great.”

“Heh, I-I bet.”

“But I want to try something different with my wardrobe from now on. I didn’t have the confidence before, but now after Tokyo, I think I can do it.” Shuichi blinked, confused.

“Oh? What do you have in mind?”

“I want to wear your color, Shuichi-chan.” Akira declared, closing his eyes. “I bought some clothes from the strip mall a few days ago, didn’t put a dent in my paycheck.”

“New clothes? That’s great, Kurusu-san.”

“What do you know about femboys, Shuichi-chan?”

* * *

“If this doesn’t work, you have to tell me straight up okay? No sugarcoating, be honest. As a detective, you should speak only the absolute truth.” Akira wagged a slender, pale finger in Shuichi’s face as he said this, expression devouring yet unfathomable at the same time.

Shuichi swallowed, hoping his heart beating a thousand miles per second wasn’t very obvious. He nodded, tugged on the tongue of his cap. He felt like an apprehended suspect, completely at the mercy of the dashing, quietly intelligent investigator.

“H-H-Hai, I promise.”

“Good!” Akira stole a swift peck from Shuichi’s cheek before disappearing into his bedroom closet. It wasn’t really a walk-in but with so few articles the raven owned it might as well be.

Akira wanted Shuichi to be his audience for his new break in fashion. He would be the first person to see him trying out these supposed new threads, and to say the raven was excited was an understatement.

Why Shuichi was considered the best option, apart from Morgana who was sitting on the detective’s shoulders, for this little experiment was beyond him but he just wanted to keep Akira happy. He was already happy, let’s keep him that way.

Keeping Akira happy has quickly become something of utmost importance to Saihara Shuichi. Short, sweet, and to the point there.

How things have changed.

“Okay, I’m ready! Drumroll, please?”

Morgana blew raspberries in response before patting his tiny, soft paws against Shuichi’s head. That created somewhat an idea of a drumroll, it was enough to satisfy Akira’s inner showman so it wasn’t long before he came out of his closet head to toe in different clothes.

“Ta-da!! What do you guys think? It has a lot more black than I’m used to, heh, but I think it’s a winner!”

“Oh, lookin’ good, Akira!”

Shuichi’s eyes were wide as dinner plates, and his heart felt like it fell down into his stomach.

Akira was either sporting a wig or hair extensions since his hair was longer, reaching his waist in proud, wild, and luscious curls. Upon closer inspection, Shuichi determined it was indeed long, very long, and connected hair extensions, as the curls flowing down Akira’s back were much tamer than the ones framing his face. It was long but still very nice, and it fitted Akira’s face surprisingly.

...Did everything Akira put on fit him nicely?

The rest of his outfit was, as he put it “definitely inspired by Saihara-chan!”: a black long-sleeved sweatshirt that almost swallowed the pair of black shorts that stopped above his pale, strong knees. Again, with how much larger the sweatshirt was compared to Akira’s usual clothes the shorts were nearly swallowed, making it seem like he was just wearing an oversized sweatshirt. The solid black of the sweatshirt contrasted well with the purple and red-striped knee-high socks and ankle-length black boots to finish off the look; simple yet comfortable.

It was nice.

“Y-you look...very pretty, Kurusu-san.” Shuichi began, smiling shyly. “But I don’t get how this is inspired by me.”

“Hmm? Well, your color scheme is white, black, and silver, right? The white stripes on your hat, the silver star, and how your suits are mostly black. I chose black to be the one color we match in; purple and red look better on me though,” Akira explained, bending his leg at the knee and standing with ease only on the other. “The red and purple next to each other like how the black goes with the white on your hat, but my shorts and sweatshirt are all black. And my boots too! And...my earring!”

“Earring?”

“Hai! You have that silver star on your hat, well so I thought to match with a small red knife earring. Look,” Akira sat cross-legged in front of Shuichi and Morgana, gathering his very “long” hair back to show his left ear.

It was indeed an earring, an earring of a red knife. It wasn’t a knife with a touch of red but a red knife, as if made from ruby or a brick. “I got this at the strip mall yesterday, remember when I told you I was out most of the day? I got these clothes there, I wanted to surprise you. Now we match!”

‘A-Akira’s so weird sometimes...but he’s really sweet too,’ Shuichi thought with a mild sweat drop, unable to look away from Akira’s kind, innocent smile. The Ultimate Detective soon gasped though, cheeks in flames when the raven reached out and gently cupped Shuichi’s face between his hands. “K-Kurusu-san?”

“Am I pretty enough to be with you now, Shuichi-chan?” Akira’s inquiry was playful clearly, all in good fun but the look in his eyes was a tad scared, unsure. As if he was worried this would turn Shuichi off.

Wait.

Was Akira afraid Shuichi would judge him for his taste in clothes? For sometimes wearing more feminine clothing or dabbling into makeup? Because the raven’s eyes seemed more intense than normal, thanks to the thick eyeliner along his lower lids and plum purple lipstick on his fair, soft-looking mouth. It was light, comfortable like his clothes...and he was worried.

Maybe he hasn’t come out to his friends in Tokyo about this. Maybe he was testing the waters first with Morgana, who’s been him since his return from Tokyo, and now Shuichi, a new best friend that he can be a little less guarded around.

He trusted Shuichi to come out like this. He was carefully gauging Shuichi’s reaction, masquerading it behind a question that implied more attraction than anything else.

…

“You’re beautiful, Kurusu-san...so much so I-I don’t know why you’d want to be with me in the first place.” Shuichi stuttered a little but managed to get his statement out mostly intact, not looking away from Akira.

The raven blinked, and soon enough his face was red as strawberries. “Shuichi…” Akira then wrapped his arms around the slightly shorter, because Shuichi was 5’7” to Akira’s 5’9”, boy’s shoulders; he pushed Shuichi back little by little until he was pressed against the side of Akira’s bed. Morgana meowed, annoyed, and darted away to the window. Akira paid him not much mind, “He’ll come back later, don’t worry he knows the way home.” The raven then pressed his forehead to Shuichi’s, internally grinning at hearing their hearts racing at the same speed. “And to answer your question, Shuichi-chan...maybe I just want to be with you. Ever thought of that?”

“I didn’t w-want to get my hopes up.”

Akira smiled, shaking his head. “You overthink everything, Ultimate Detective,” he said before he pressed his lips to Shuichi’s.

* * *

“Are you really reading?” Shuichi asked with an amused grin, looking down at the head resting against his chest.

Akira nodded, eyes on the book propped up in his lap. “I am, believe it or not, this really helps me focus.”

“How do you focus at school then? Since we don’t attend the same one.”

“I just picture you there with me,” the raven shrugged, turning the page and humming. “Tsk, you’d think my English would have gotten better but I still have trouble not writing in the third person perspective...”

“You can always excuse it as writing your autobiography from the third person.”

“Can I?”

“Maybe, if you put your mind to it.” Shuichi shrugged. He blushed when Akira giggled and pressed a soft kiss to the underside of his chin.

“I put my mind into everything I do, Shu-chan.”

“Is that a new nickname? How many does that make?”

“Nicknames and pet names aren’t the same thing!” Akira whined, lightly flicking Shuichi on the nose. “They’re different; nicknames come from an already existing name while pet names don’t have to. ‘Baby’ or ‘Sweetie’ don’t come from your name, do they Saihara Shuichi?”

“No, they don’t.”

“So I win. Again!” Shuichi sighed.

“Yeah, yeah just go back to studying. You have a test this week, don’t you? You need to concentrate.”

“Bossy.”

“Chatty.”

“Bitchy.”

“Your bitch,” how Shuichi can say that unironically was amazing.

“I’m such a good influence on you, Shu-chan.”

* * *

“Are you okay?” Shuichi made sure to keep his voice low, steady as he placed his hands lightly on Akira’s waist.

Morgana was still asleep which was a good thing, explaining what was going on would be a little hard. Akira looked up his hands and met Shuichi’s gaze. It broke the Ultimate Detective’s heart to see those normally happy, wide eyes so tiny and red-rimmed dripping with tears.

“S-Shuichi…”

“It was another nightmare, wasn’t it? About the Interrogation Room?”

The Interrogation Room. There was a reason it was capitalized.

Akira’s soft sniffles were all the answers Shuichi needed. Slowly, the blue-haired boy eased Akira into his arms. He placed one hand to the back of his neck, the other to his lower back. The raven wrapped his arms tightly around Shuichi’s neck, tears still streaming down his cheeks and breathing very, very much uneven. He was trembling violently, and Shuichi knew that every time Akira lightly scratched at a phantom itch, it was where once a bruise rested. Dark and purple, large and telling and heartbreaking.

PTSD can be a bitch, Saihara Shuichi wasn’t a stranger to this chaotic, demanding, biting mistress in the slightest.

Words didn’t always promise a positive outcome, so Shuichi began to rock back and forth slowly, hand going from the back of Akira’s neck to his hair to gently work curls around his slender, pale fingers. He breathed in slowly through his nose, out slowly through his mouth. He didn’t direct Akira to follow verbally, just did what he knew would help the other calm down.

Akira’s mind palace after a nightmare was always in shambles. No amount of picking up books, pushing in chairs, and cleaning up glass could restore the peace within. It had to be external first before internal so that he was reminded that that terrible, terrible room of dread was long gone. It was in the past, and the past could no longer harm the raven.

Even the strong leader of the Phantom Thieves fell victim to pain, to suffering even if it wasn’t optional. Because sometimes both pain and suffering are inevitable.

Akira’s breathing evened out, eventually. The shadows in his room, usually so daunting, were made small with Shuichi’s presence. The scent of his hair and skin and clothes, something like juniper or Shobus mixed with Ume (Akira’s favorite flower) and honey that no matter what Shuichi wore was present. Mixed in with his sweat, mixed in with dull sterileness of whatever soap he used to wash up after dinner…

The shadows of the men in black, the men who kicked him in the stomach and stepped on his face, threatening to choke him with their expensive, shiny probably Italian (faux Italian) loafers were repelled by the Ultimate Detective. By the burning flames of his eyes, by the delicate tightrope that made up his mouth when in a thin line, by the insecure yet confident stride of his stance.

They lost their power here. He wasn’t handcuffed. He wasn’t drugged. He wasn’t silently agonizing for both the physical and emotional, mental ache gnawing at his bones, his insides leaving nothing but dust.

It was all stopped, if only for a few minutes.

Taking in a less shaky breath, Akira gently tugged at a lock of Shuichi’s dark blue hair. He kept tugging until the shorter boy looked down; normally gambogeish grey replaced by a smoldering gilt or tawny Akira wasn’t sure but they were beautiful, oh so beautiful, like everything else of Saihara Shuichi.

To think Kurusu Akira once thought he’d never feel this way for anyone. Love just seemed impossible, even when he had multiple opportunities back in Tokyo and even here before leaving for a year. He didn’t find it in Tokyo, so why find it here?

And maybe it was too soon to say it was, maybe this isn’t love just yet.

But Akira liked Shuichi, he liked Shuichi very, very, very much.

And he was happy to have him in his life. No matter how long it took for this to happen.

“Shuichi…?”

“Akira?”

“Arigato. For everything.” Shuichi’s smile was tiny but sincere.

“Always, Akira. Always.”

He dropped the -kun. He stopped referring to Akira as “Kurusu-san”. No more of that. Just Akira and Shuichi. Akira’s even stopped with the whole “Saihara-chan”.

First name basis.

“Akira? Are y-you feeling...are you feeling better now?”

In response, the raven lightly gripped the sparse hairs at the nape of Shuichi’s neck and pulled. Pulled just hard enough so that his and the Ultimate Detective’s faces were mere inches apart. He smiled at seeing the confusion in the other’s eyes before bringing him in for a soft kiss. No tongue or teeth, a petal-soft brush of the lips but it was what Akira needed.

A sharp gasp leaves Shuichi’s chest, his fingers trembling and bouncing off Akira’s skin. Lips parted, gaping like a fish out of the water before they met and pressed back. Hands cupping Akira’s face, long lashes tickling the raven’s cheeks as Shuichi’s eyes fluttered shut.

The kiss probably lasted a few minutes...or a few hours, it was hard to tell but whenever they did part away, Shuichi and Akira cuddled close together and gazed at each other until both fell asleep.

* * *

“Shuichi, it’s almost four in the morning,” Akira grumbled, standing over the hunched-over detective with his arms crossed. He was in his pajamas, glasses nowhere in sight.

“Just a little bit longer, Aki. I’m this close to a breakthrough…” Shuichi mumbled, holding up two pinched fingers to further emphasize his point.

As if the thick, haunting bags under his eyes and the ashen shade of his normally pale skin weren’t enough…

“You’ve been working on this case nonstop for the last three days, you haven’t been going to bed for longer than three hours and you didn’t eat at all today. You just had tea.”

“My uncle needs the extra support, I’m doing everything I can.”

Akira’s gaze softened. “I know you are, sweetheart. You’re the most hardworking person I’ve met, maybe beating Makoto out for that spot in my opinion. But working yourself to the bone isn’t a good idea. You won’t be as sharp and aware of the smallest details, you’re going to be hungry all the time and not to mention irritable as all hell. That’s not what makes a good detective.”

Shuichi winced but didn’t put up a fight. Deep down he knew Akira was right and was only looking after him, as a good boyfriend does. He was patient and kind and can be submissive as he understood what kind of work the blue-haired boy did. But he was also demanding, firm, and had a dominant streak behind those wide, innocent-looking eyes.

And right now he was establishing his dominance over the situation and Shuichi, and Shuichi found himself powerless to stop Akira.

So powerless that when the raven pulled Shuichi’s chair back and lifted him into his arms as if he weighed nothing, which he probably did with how little he’s eaten as of late, the detective wrapped his arms around Akira’s neck. So powerless that when Shuichi was sat down on his bed and Akira got to work on taking off his shoes and socks for him and putting them aside, the detective assisted by unbuttoning his shirt and pants. So powerless that when Shuichi crawled under the covers and allowed Akira to brush his hair out of his eyes and whisper in his ear, “Get some sleep; when you wake up, I’ll have a sandwich and some hot chocolate ready for you”, he merely nodded and let his eyes flutter shut then and there.

And that sandwich, five hours later, tasted like heaven. The hot chocolate had a little bit too much cinnamon, but Shuichi enjoyed it nonetheless.

* * *

Shuichi’s eyes watered and a small but content smile touched his lips, closing his bedroom door as quietly as he could.

Kurusu Akira and Morgana were fast asleep on his bed, both curled up like cats (ha). Morgana on Akira’s side, tail curled over his nose and front paws tucked under his furry chin. The raven with his arms folded under his cheek, glasses askew and long legs dangling off the side of Shuichi’s bed. What looked like his textbooks were scattered at the foot of the bed no doubt from an impromptu study session as Akira waited for his Ultimate Detective boyfriend to come home.

Shuichi’s been hauled up at his uncle’s detective agency for the last three days on a very gruesome case and said Ultimate Detective has been sleeping in one of the offices working himself from dawn to dusk. Again.

And because he knew Akira wouldn’t be fine with Shuichi doing this he’s been hiding (technically hint actually) from him since the week started. If he thought he could get away with it he did for a little while, before it was revealed that two can play at this game and the raven was just as clever.

Akira was and always will be the leader of the Phantom Thieves of Hearts, nothing easily slips past him.

So here he was, passed out from waiting for Shuichi to come home.

For him to come back home, as in back to Akira.

Akira feels most at home with Shuichi and Morgana, and the same can be said for Shuichi when it came to Akira and Morgana. While he had a better relationship with his aunt and uncle compared to Akira’s with his parents, the Ultimate Detective felt at ease with the raven and feline from the Metaverse. There was serenity with them that wasn’t quite like the one that he felt at home. Maybe it was the teenage love in him doing most of the talking, maybe it was Shuichi being clingy and nervous about losing Akira as both a boyfriend and best friend. Maybe it was both or neither or a thousand other things, whatever it was Shuichi loved what they had.

Loved.

He loved what he had with Akira. He loved seeing Akira every day, hearing his laugh or waking up to his sleepy, droopy smile in the mornings. He loved spoiling Morgana, who will deny it until the day he dies, with scratches and cuddles after a particularly long day. He loved eating curry and drinking coffee and having curry and coffee together even if it’s for breakfast.

Shuichi loved this routine, this simple existence he’s come to be familiar with since meeting Akira.

…

Was that why he was crying? Because seeing Akira waiting for him, deciding Shuichi was that important that he’d wait until he was done with work to really make plans? And even if those plans merely promised the three of them watching a movie or two until they passed out into dreamless slumbers...those were the kind of plans Akira looked forward to the most. As long as Shuichi was part of it, Akira was happy.

Saihara Shuichi made Kurusu Akira happy. And Saihara Shuichi might be in love with Kurusu Aki-

“Shuichi?” Akira’s gunmetal eyes peeked from behind pretty, thick lashes. His cheek left the back of his hand as he slowly sat up, careful not to jostle Morgana in the progress. The feline merely rolled off the raven and resumed sleeping, ears twitching before settling. With the grace of a dancer, which he was so that made sense, Akira rubbed the sand out of his eyes and smiled sweetly in the Ultimate Detective’s direction. “You’re home, welcome back.” Rising off the bed, getting rid of a quick crick in his long neck before enveloping the smaller boy in a loose, warm hug. “I’m so happy to see you. I tried to stay up but I fell asleep, Math isn’t that interesting.” Shuichi was silent, pressing his nose and cheek against Akira’s shoulders with his hands gripping lightly his slender hips. “Your uncle let me in, I went ahead and made dinner for everyone. Not curry this time, I promised I’d expanse my fine cuisines. I can go heat it up while you get comfortable.”

“A-Akira, arigato…”

“Hmm? Don’t be silly, I’m happy to do this,” The raven replied with a short, sweet laugh. He pulled away to cup Shuichi’s face between his hands, nuzzling their noses together. “I love you, Shuichi...and I’m going to be your housewife one day so might as well get some practice in.”

“Don’t you mean househusband?”

“When that’s officially a thing in the world, you bet. For now, though I’ll stick with the housewife. Housewife, homemaker, and baby raiser.”

“You guys are so mushy…!” Morgana hissed in a sleepy hiss, rolling his eyes before going back to sleep. Shuichi’s cheeks were on fire and Akira was cackling as softly as he could, resting his head on the detective’s shoulder.

“You okay, Shuichi? Come on now, go and get comfortable. I’ll bring you dinner, and then afterward we can take a bath together. Sounds good?”

“Hai...s-sounds really good.”

It sounded perfect, because it meant Shuichi would be Akira's once again...

**Author's Note:**

> ~I don't own the Persona series/property. That is all Atlus. I do not own the Dangan Ronpa series/property either. That is all Spike Chunsoft's doing. I just like writing stories with their lovely creations, but they are not mine.~


End file.
